Fix: PUBG won’t Launch

PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds otherwise known as PUBG is an online multiplayer battle royale game that was developed and published by PUBG Corporation. The game was released in the December of 2017 and instantly became quite popular for its unique form of gameplay. However, quite recently a lot of reports have been coming in of users who are unable to launch the game. When the game executable is executed nothing happens and the game does not show up in the task manager.

What Prevents PUBG from Launching?

After receiving numerous reports from multiple users we decided to investigate the matter and devised a set of solutions which solved the problem for most of our users. Also, we looked into the reasons due to which the error was being triggered and listed them below.

Now that you have a basic understanding of the nature of the issue we will move on towards the solutions. It is recommended that you try these solutions in the specific order in which they are provided.

Solution 1: Verify Missing Files

The game requires all of its files to be present and intact in order to function correctly. If certain files are missing or have gone corrupt the game will not be able to launch correctly.

1. Open the Steam Client and log in to your account.
2. Click on “Library” and right–click on the game from the list in the left pane.
3. Select “Properties” and click on the “Local Files” tab.
4. Click on “Verify the integrity of Game Files” options and wait for the client to complete the process.
5. Run the game and check to see if the issue persists.

   

Solution 2: Deleting Config Files

There are certain files inside the “Content>Paks” folder that cause conflicts with the game and prevent the game from launching. Therefore, in this step, we will be deleting some files inside the “Paks” folder. For that:

1. Navigate to the game installation folder.
2. Open the “Tslgame” folder and then the “Content” folder.
3. Now open the “Paks” Folder and delete every file in there that does not start with “Pakchunk“. Here is how the file path might look in your case:

   PUBG > TslGame > Content > Paks

   Note: Make sure not to delete any file that does have “Pakchunk” in its name.

4. Open steam, log in to your account and repeat the verification process of the game as indicated in the previous step.

   

5. Run the game and check to see if the issue persists.

Solution 3: Changing Affinity

Due to a bug within the game, the game sometimes doesn’t launch properly if during the launch all the CPU cores are used. Therefore, in this step, we will be changing the “affinity” of the game.

1. Open the “Task Manager” by right-clicking on the taskbar and selecting “Task Manager“.

   

2. Click on the “Details” tab to open up the app usage details.

   

3. Open the steam client and log in to your account.
4. Click on “library” and then on PUBG.
5. Click on “play” and monitor the task manager carefully.
6. As soon as “TslGame.exe” shows up right-click on it and select “Set Affinity“.

   

7. Uncheck the “All Processors” box and check the “CPU 0” box.

   

   Note: You have to be fast with this process and finish before the game starts.

8. Let the game start and check to see if the issue persists.
9. If the game launches normally, let it reach the main menu and then again go to the “task manager“, right–click on the “TslGame.exe” in details and select “Set Affinity“.

   

10. Check the “All Processors” again.
11. Now you can play the game normally and start a match but you have to be careful to change the affinity back to “CPU 0” before you leave the match.

Solution 4: Installing VC Redist C++

The game requires all versions of the software to be installed and working correctly. If any of the versions is missing from your computer the game will not run properly. Therefore, in this step, we will be downloading and installing the VC Redist C++.

1. You can download Visual Studio 2017 from here if you are using a 64–bit operating system and from here if you are using a 32–bit operating system.

   

2. Install the software after downloading it or replace it if you have it already installed on the system.
3. You can download the Visual Studio 2015 from here and install it once the download finishes.
4. After both the software have been installed, run the game and check to see if the issue persists.

Solution 5: Disabling Overclocking

If you have overclocked either your CPU or your GPU it is recommended that you remove overclocking and try to launch the game. If the problem is solved, then you will have to play the game without overclocking because in some cases, overclocking causes issues and conflicts with certain elements of the game and it doesn’t launch properly.